I am planning on reading along with Megan from Semi-Charmed Kind of Life on her Winter Book Challenge.
Rules:
- The challenge will run from November 1, 2012, to January 31, 2013. (I know this should technically be the Semi-Charmed Winter 2012-2013 Book Challenge, but that is just too long and doesn’t make as nice of ahashtag.) No books that are started before 12 a.m. on November 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on January 31 will count.
- No re-reads (unless specifically stated)! I want you to experience new books with this challenge.
- Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audiobooks are fine, as long as the print versions meet the page requirements.
- A book can only be used for one category. If you want to switch the category later, that’s fine, just be sure to account for that in your point total.
- The highest possible total is 200 points, and the first five people who finish the challenge will win a featured/guest post on Semi-Charmed Kind of Life. Good luck!
The Challenge:
5 points: Read a book written by an author you have never read before.
5: Read a book you already have at home but haven’t gotten around to yet (from the library, from a bookstore, borrowed from a friend, on your e-reader, whatever).
10: Read a book written in the decade that you were born.
10: Read a book that takes place in the state/province where you were born. If you were born outside the U.S. and Canada, read a book that takes place in the country you were born.
15: Read a book titled The _______’s Daughter or The _______’s Wife.
15: Read a book that was originally written in a language other than English.
20: Read a book with a number in the title. This could be an actual digit or a number like “hundred” or “thousand.” No arbitrary numbers are allowed (e.g. several, few, many, couple).
20: Read a book set during Christmas or another winter holiday.
20: Read a book written by an author who shares your initials.
25: Read a Pulitzer Prize winner or finalist for fiction.
25: Re-read a book.
30: Read three books from three different genres (e.g. romance, historical fiction, horror, biography, etc.). Remember, the books used for this category cannot count for any other category.
I often have a lot of trouble deciding what to read next, so I thought this would work out great for me. I am starting a month late, so chances are I will not finish by January 31. The first category I chose was to read a book that you haven’t gotten to, and the first book is…
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barber
I bought the book several years ago after one of my friends recommended it. I got a couple pages in and completely gave up. So I decided to make a second attempt. And… I understand why I gave up the first time around. I am really struggling to get through it. I am about 110 pages in (of just over 300). The first 50 pages or so were really difficult to get through, and it is slowly getting more interesting, but at this point I would have no trouble putting the book down and walking away. Forever. It got 3 1/2 stars on Goodreads, so it must get better right? I read a couple reviews, and apparently there is a main character that has not yet been introduced. Hopefully once “Ozu” joins the story line it will really start picking up.
Has anyone read The Elegance of the Hedgehog? What did you think?
Any book suggestions for the other categories?
Just go ahead and... 